Wagging With Insanity
Note: this is an alternate ending Written by Ananasz. This features supercute dogs, like bitch, do you even know kawaii? ---- In this ending, the original story has been translated to fit Mind and Dennim, who are now dogs. All other characters are still human, but their connection to the main characters have changed. Mind is a high pedigree Saluki that was born in a household that specifically bred this type of dog. When she was just a few weeks old, she got sold to a man that planned to use her as a breeding dog. He successfully presented himself to the original owners as a kind father who wanted to give his young, ill daughter an impressive gift. His sweet lies moved the gullible couple with every uttered word, until they had no doubts left that the man was a sweet and honest person. His manipulation tricks managed to convince the two to hand over the fairly young Mind "in time for his daughter's birthday". Despite not being that wealthy, the man gladly paid full price for her, as he expected to make a fortune out of his future business. With Mind's impressive documents and famous, award-winning parents, it was easy for him to set things up, even though he was initially worried he'd have no customers; because Mind is female and it is customary that males are used to continue a bloodline. But as offspring from Mind's superb parents were rare, there was quite a queue of wealthy dog owners who wished to have a litter, urging the inexperienced breeder to sacrifice Mind's health and happiness in order to speed up business. The pricey pup was indeed quick to pay him back; and his earnings increased twentyfold of what the initial costs were just after having delivered the first litter. Even so, he showed little appreciation towards his pet, and it didn't help that Mind happened to have a natural disinterest for other dogs, making it hard to use her for the sole purpose he bought her for. The money-hungry man decided to get involved during the breeding process by holding down the fragile dog every time, for the sake of time and money. As he never had any interest in looking up information about canines, or even the breed he bought, he often forced dogs on her when she wasn't ready to conceive, which developed an early fear for humans and male dogs. After barely 6 months, he started to see her as a bother and wanted to take the work off his hands. He felt that there was no reason for her to sit in his living room if she wasn't making him money, and he didn't care for keeping the dog as a regular pet. He decided to house her in a nearby pound, where she got locked in a relatively empty cage, and a staff member was hired to take his place of performing his heinous breeding tactic. While the pound initially showed concern for his way of handling Mind, the man explained the dog's temper to them and managed to convince them of the necessity. The offer of a large payment made them especially cooperative, and they decided to welcome his customers in his name and "help Mind with her shyness". The excessive breeding caused Mind to have had 7 large litters in the short 4 years of her life. As her pups were taken away from her just 2 weeks after being born every time, she kept suffering from motherly heartbreak, adding onto the depression. The excuse that the customers had a surrogate mother available and had to immediately go overseas with the prized dogs, made the staff accepting of this harsh treatment of Mind. For the majority of her life, she was imprisoned in an unloving environment, only used for her pedigree and fertility. She behaved like a typical broken animal since the age of 1. One day a businessman arrives at the pound, with his wife and own "high pedigree" Saluki, and wishes to see Mind, as was supposedly arranged. The man at the small counter watches the strange-looking couple with slight confusion and disapproval, but when he understands they indeed have an appointment and are wealthy, important customers, he decides to erase his distrust for them and makes way for overexcited hospitality. He leads the couple to the back and shows them the lonesome, hunched female dog, sitting with her face in the corner of her cage. She slightly turns her head and points her noticeably blue eyes at the new visitors behind her, whereafter she immediately buries her snout back in the corner. The customer comments on her beauty, and the staff member gives a standard, but friendly response, insinuating he's heard the compliment more than once. When the customer's dog starts to wag his tail in her presence, the man lets out a cheery remark to his excitement, while the owner comments that the dog's fiery behaviour is rather surprising. He claims he is picky and doesn't like most other dogs, lamenting that it makes it hard to breed with his prized possession, while there's a global interest in him. The employee replies that Mind is quite similar. The customer then feels it's relevant to comment on her gloomy behaviour, whereafter the man tries his best to repeat his employer's excuse for it. He appears accepting of the explanation, but asks if it's save for his dog to enter her space when she's like that, to which he's given the answer that Mind is quite submissive and has never bitten anyone or anything. After the short interview has run its course, the customer agrees to get things started, but when the staff member announces he needs to stay and assist Mind, he shows disbelief for this and adds that his dog cannot perform in the presence of others. The man expresses his worry for this fact, and explains that Mind might not submit without human assistance. Nevertheless, the customer seems unconcerned and insists they not interrupt or defile an intimate moment. The employee admits defeat and opens up Mind's cage. As the dog is let in, he starts to playfully stomp his front paws onto the floor and wildly wags his tail, though Mind is unconvinced of her new guest's good intentions and stays frozen in her corner. The man's warning that the couple's visit might end up becoming a waste of time is ignored, and they head back to the entrance room. As soon the room is empty, the dog quits his act and takes on a normal, calm pose. Mind, despite her back being turned, picks up on this and occasionally watches the stranger from the corner of her eyes. When he attempts to move closer, she flinches, whereafter he sits back down again. He informs her he's not planning to do anything to her, but she doesn't respond to this. He attempts to loosen her up by making jokes about the chubby employee and criticizing the cheap appearance of the room they're in, but still gets greeted with more silence. After she refused to speak for 5 minutes and he's gone through all his jokes and small talk, he suddenly and swiftly appears next to her, greatly startling her. Mind lets herself fall to the ground and backs away, while whimpering loudly in his presence. He is surprised by her reaction, but wastes no time following the fleeing dog and casually suggesting she shouldn't draw the attention of the staff at the other side. Mind finds the courage to speak to the intrusive character and begs him to keep his distance. He answers he can't, as she needs him to get out of the pound. While she heard these important words, she's overcome with stress and they don't sink in. Mind crawls to a new corner and sits as far away from him as possible. He continues that his owner is a fair man and gives him anything he wants. Mind doesn't understand the insinuation, thus he repeats his intention of rescuing her; and presents a strategy that requires his caretakers to return and find the two of them shown visibly attached to each other. He argues that his owner might go out of his way to adopt her. A short pause follows, afterwards Mind replies that she already has an owner and is not staying in the pound as an adoptable. The dog confusingly responds that humans possess stuff that allows them to get other stuff, and that a large quantity of this stuff makes them especially stupid. He explains that his owner has all the stuff and never not got what he desired. As Mind doesn't give the punch line to his apparent joke, he clarifies that his owner isn't stupid. Mind then hesitantly asks why he would do this for her, as they are strangers and just met. The dog casually lies down on the blanket in her recently abandoned corner and claims to have known her since they were puppies, as he was born in the same home as her. Mind's ears slowly rise up in surprise and she replies not to remember him. He explains they were both very young still, but that he's always had a good memory that goes far back, and her scent is memorable. In order to make his story more plausible, he describes her and her parents, and the man who picked her up when she was barely able to walk. Mind is convinced he's telling the truth, though doesn't consider it the reason for his rescue and is skeptical. She asks how he managed to find her and how his story provides any basis for his desire of freeing her. He notices her fixed distrust in him, and attempts to erase the assumption he's a stalker by saying it's faithful coincidence. He quickly continues that "their family" used to teach a strong pack mentality and were all about sticking together, even after separation, clarifying his devotion to helping her. He suggests she should be thankful that they got to meet, opposed to being cautious of him. As Mind is unable to remember much of her youth and the dog successfully convinced her to have shared the same home, she finds little reason to question his claims. Even so, the fact his escape plan requires physical contact makes her anxious, and she still shows little trust for her smiling guest. He tries to approach her in order to get things started, but she continuously flinches or crawls away from him when his shadow touches her. The dog urges her to get her act together before the humans show up, but Mind moans that she simply can't stand his presence. Despite believing the truth he presented her and gladly wanting to leave her current situation, she realizes her behaviour is mostly involuntary. Because she can't relax herself for her own sake, she wonders out loud if it isn't better he abandoned his mission and headed back home. He can't find himself in her suggestion and keeps walking after the fleeing dog in the hopes she'll get used to his approach. As precious seconds tick away and there's no improvement, the dog decides to take on a more submissive position and makes another attempt by crawling towards her. When he's close enough, he lies himself down on his back and announces to the shivering bundle of fur that he is doing so. Mind raises her head and hesitantly turns it to see he indeed is presenting her his stomach as a sign of docility and submission, though isn't sure how to react to the unfamiliar sight. The dog tries to move himself closer to her while still on his back, and puts his head against the side of her resting paws. In his new pose, he tries to argue with her again and repeats that they need to position themselves in a believable manner before the humans come to see them, but Mind again refuses to move or speak. He clarifies that they can't stay like this, as it'll just look like he cornered her against a wall, which won't convince his caretakers that they share any adoration for each other. Mind then explains in a trembling voice that she can't handle any form of touch, and despite his submissive state, is paralyzed with anxiety and can't get to move herself in order to reenact his plan. After an hour has passed since their initial meeting, a door is heard opening and familiar voices follow soon after. The dog realizes time is up, but also that he failed to make the abused female feel accustomed to him enough to help herself. Nevertheless, he decides to take a bold step and shoots up, alarming Mind and urging her to bolt off again, but he immediately grabs her by the neck and forces her down onto the center of the cage. Before she can shriek in panic, he lands his heavy paw onto her muzzle and lies down next to her. He whispers to her not to ruin this for herself, whereafter Mind attempts to swallow her cries and starts to breathe heavily instead. The male repeats his tactic of decreasing his dominance by making himself smaller, and Mind succeeds in calming herself down to the best of her abilities, before the customers and the employee catch them in their sight. The dog gently slides one of his paws over her back, and the two of them stay motionless until a reaction is given. The dog's owner responds with glee upon seeing the two "snuggling", while the employee is mostly baffled by the image. Even so, the man ends up complimenting Mind for improving and having made her first friend. The careful dog tries to stay as still as possible in order not to startle Mind and mess up the act, and stays put when his dear master bends through his knees and attempts to call him over. The room notices his lack of response, and the owner supposes that the two lovers desire more time together. The staff member informs him that his boss prefers his dog not to stay with unfamiliar animals longer than she has to, out of safety. The customer shows understanding for the measure and allows for the man to open up the cage. But the employee starts entering himself, and as he comes closer, the plan gets disrupted and Mind shoots away in fear for him. The man stops in his tracks after this and guesses the customer can call over his dog now, but the owner mirrors the dog's expression and appears hesitant. He clumsily tries to call him, but the young male stays put and looks like he's still figuring out what to do. The staff member suggests he should carry him out, thus the man slowly approaches his pet and grabs him by the collar. The dog's face then looks enlightened, and he starts pulling back, preventing his owner from dragging him out. The customer expresses his confusion for his behaviour and lets him go, but the employee is not content with his short-lived effort and offers his help. But when he attempts to approach and grab the hardheaded canine, he shows his teeth and menacingly growls at him, sending him back out the cage as soon he came in. The man starts to complain to the two customers about his given rules that need to be followed, but they show no genuine interest for his rant. The businessman ponders the whole deal for a second and then asks how much Mind costs. A hint of shock appears on the staff member's face and he explains that she is in no way for sale. But the man argues that everything is and insists that he calls her owner to set up a deal. The employee again says that Mind cannot be sold and uses her high value as an argument, but the customer refuses to budge and his serious wife breaks him the news that her husband is especially stubborn and won't be leaving until they've spoken to Mind's owner directly. The staff member nervously heads back to his counter in the entrance room to phone his employer about the situation. Mind's owner shows confusion for being called about this and confirms that he's not planning to sell an important source of money. Suddenly the horn is grabbed out of the employee's hand, and the customer is seen standing next to to the man, continuing the conversation. He introduces himself and repeats that he wishes to buy his dog. But Mind's owner stays unwilling to consider, whereafter the tone of the phone call shifts and the customer starts asking about Mind's age and the amount of litters she's had. He argues that her body has aged too much and the chance she'll have healthy litters in the future will only decrease. He then adds that since the dog is "staying in a low-budget animal shelter, where he got greeted by a greasy apartment-dweller who had the audacity to judge him as he entered the front door", he guesses he doesn't care enough about her to keep her at home in a normal environment, and should be willing to give her away. Both the man and the employee respond shocked to the unannounced insults, but the man appears noticeably less hard after this given observation. He apologizes for the rude greeting he might've gotten from his hired staff, but says Mind is needed to pay some very important bills, and brings up his familiar sob story about his non-existent daughter. The customer ignores his spiel and cuts him off halfway by asking for the price. The man thinks to silence him by demanding 1 million dollars, but the phone call is ended with the customer agreeing and expecting him to show up with the documents soon, whereafter he hands the horn back to the employee. The man then asks his boss what he wants to do, and he announces to come over to deal with it. After a mere 15 minutes, he shows up and greets the seated pale figure in the entrance room. The customer wastes no time to ask if he brought Mind's documents, and gets reassured it to be so, but the man desires to know what for he wants his Saluki. He replies that he's always wanted his dog to have company while he and his wife are off working, but that his antisocial pet dislikes other animals, though found his luck with Mind just a few minutes ago. As her owner's face shows disbelief for the severity of the "problem", he then clarifies that it means quite something that the dog accepted Mind's presence. The man decides not to question the reason further, though feels the price to be suspicious and tries to test the waters by suggesting to neuter her before going along with the sale. Before the customer can respond, he politely argues it to make sense; as he claims to only want her as a companion for his pet, and it would be improper if he lied and used two famous Salukis to set up a golden business. The businessman laughs at this and responds that money isn't quite scarce in his life, and he need not to set up such a business for any reason. He explains that he doesn't breed with his dog for the payment, but that it is an occasional thing he does for fans. When the man asks why he showed up to breed with Mind, he swiftly responds to have hoped to use his dog's own offspring to function as "the companion". As his answers sounds believable enough and the businessman comes across as an eccentric spender, the man starts to become more intrigued and considers selling Mind after all. They shake on the sale, and the customer pulls out his credit card to pay the pound the large sum of money in Mind's owner's name for the time being, whereafter they arrange to head to the nearby vet together and have her neutered. The two of them head back to the space housing the dog cages, where the wife and man's dog are still waiting. But Mind starts to lose her mind upon seeing her old owner after years and screams loudly. The man quickly ensures the couple that it's part of her behaviour, and adds a quick claim that she's simply afraid of certain types of shoes, and blames the previous owners for it. He hands them her documents as he enters the cage and reaches out his hand to the twitching, wide-eyed Mind. Hairs fly around while she has what looks like an epileptic attack, but her old owner feels forever unimpressed by it and drags her out by her collar. The male dog then casually stands next to her, but whispers that she should calm herself, as she just got sold to his caretaker. The man cheerfully announces to be ready if they are, and they head outside, again dragging the fearful Mind behind them. But as it becomes apparent that the old owner plans to drive her in his own car, the male dog sneakily creates a small puddle near Mind, and it doesn't take long for everyone to think she has soiled herself in her moment of stress. The man starts to become angry with her, but also makes it clear he doesn't want to mess up his car's interior, whereafter the customer offers to transport the dogs together. Without doubting it for a second, he hands the leash over to him and gets in his car. He informs them he'll be driving in front of them, and they just need to follow. The dogs are positioned on the backseat of the new-smelling car and they drive off. Mind looks unsure about what to do or how to act in her new environment and decides to lie down against the door. Her fellow passenger then suggest she should hold onto something, as his master is about to take a sharp turn. She doesn't respond and is confused by how he's able to know that, but surely, the car speeds up and takes a sharp right, launching her to the other side of the seat. The dog moves up to look out of the back window and laughs when he sees Mind's old owner continue on without them. Mind responds confused by his excitement and asks if she wasn't already paid for. He explains that they were off castrating her, but they dodged that bullet and are now heading to her new home. She asks if her old owner won't come back for them, but he reassures her there's no need for worry, as they have her documents and there's a witness that can confirm she's been paid for. There's no real case to be made and her owner won't succeed in finding them, anyway. While she doesn't know how it all fits together, she's forced to believe him and decides not to ask further questions. She looks at the buildings passing them, but can't say where they are or are going to, as she'd been locked up most her life and never got to see much of the city. Because of this, she lies back down again and points her snout to the ground. Her companion urges her to take in the outdoors now that she can, but she replies not to know what she is looking at, thus not having any kind of feeling towards it. He argues that she needs to become familiar with something in order to get a feeling, and that it requires effort. After they've exited the city, they arrive at a large house in the grassy hills outside its borders. With no other buildings in sight, the house's location looks like it could easily end up forgotten by the outside world, and silence lingers in the air. Mind's new owners get out of the car and the passenger door opens. The male jumps right out and waits for Mind to follow, but as expected, she stays put. As he knows she'll likely won't listen to sweet invitations, he pokes his head back inside and takes her leash in his jaw. She is dragged out with healthy force and he guides her inside the house with their 2 caretakers. The man tries to pet her on the head, but she lets out a loud yelp the moment his hand makes contact, whereafter he and his wife walk away without saying a word to them or each other. She's unsure of what to think of their odd response, but feels a bit more relieved now that they've left the room. The dog then sits down and watches her for a while. Mind is paralyzed on the spot and shows visible uneasiness for his staring. He then asks if she wants to leave. She slowly rises her head, but doesn't know how to respond to his sudden question or what he wishes to hear. He continues that he can open the door for her and let her run off. He claims to know how to read human language and operate their devices; and could use her documents to deactivate her chip online, in order to prevent the chance of being brought back to them or her old owner if she were to get captured. He promises to eat the documents afterwards, ensuring that nobody can ever confirm her value and use her for breeding again. Mind doesn't understand most of the terms used, but realizes how the mentioned measures will grant her freedom. Even so, she's uncertain if he's serious about his offer and just silently looks at him. The dog understands that there's no use in explaining anything further and jumps at the front door in order to open it. The breeze from outside causes it to swing open all the way, and he steps back, waiting for her decision. Mind looks at him and then at the sunny hills outside, and without saying a single word, sprints off into the distance. Meanwhile, Mind's old owner has returned to the pound to complain about the customers that fled with his intact dog. The pound's staff member shows understanding for his frustration, but adds that he at least got paid the 1 million dollars, as was confirmed by their system that morning. The man acknowledges this and then reminds himself that it should be possible for them to get an address out of the transaction; but when they try to look it up, they can no longer find the payment. The man starts to panic and looks up the customer's name he was previously able to find online, but gets no results, as if he never existed. The man is quick to call the police about his pedigree dog having been stolen, but they discover her chip has been deactivated and are also unable to find an address, name, or any prood that the license plate of their car has ever existed. Night has fallen, and Mind is still traveling the hills alone, without a destination. The landscape offers no distinguishable features and she's forced to conclude her day without managing to find any buildings or signs of life. Nevertheless, as she lies down to rest in the grass, she wonders if she even prefers to. Now that peace has returned to her and she's able to use her rational mind, she tries to figure out if she should look for a new caretaker or live the life of a stray. As it's difficult to make a decision as a dog that's never had to take care of herself, she figures it's wise to sleep on it. She closes her exhausted eyes and attempts to relax in the outdoors wilderness, but soon gets awakened by the sound of something approaching her. She looks up and the moonlight shows her a familiar shape, carrying what sounds like a plastic bag with unknown contents. Mind is shocked to meet up with the dog she abandoned hours ago and asks how he managed to find her. He offers a simple reply and says to have a good nose, and places the plastic bag next to her. As is customary, Mind flinches upon his approach, but doesn't crawl away this time. He figures she is tired. She sniffs the contents and wastes no time eating the chunk of raw pork inside. The dog urges her not to end up starving and says she should find someone to care for her, quickly. Mind expresses her uncertainty about where to go and brings up the possibility of staying a stray. He says that to be fine, but that there are no wild dogs in the area and it'll be difficult for her to survive on her own. She understands his points, but replies that she prefers it to human company. He then asks her what she thinks of him, and she replies to appreciate his help, but is still cautious of him as a male. Category:Fanon Category:Fanfiction